Shanghai , China -LRB- CNN -RRB- Volvo says it will begin exporting vehicles made in a factory in southwest China to the United States next month , the first time Chinese-built passenger cars will roll into American showrooms .

Parent company Geely Automobile , which bought Volvo in 2010 , is seeking to prove that a Chinese company can manage a global auto brand .

Geely 's gambit will be watched to see if it paves the way for other Chinese car manufacturers to crack developed markets .

CEO Håkan Samuelsson said Volvo planned to sell 1,500 Chinese-made S60 Inscription sedans in 2015 and 5,000 annually in subsequent years .

For many U.S. consumers , China is still more closely linked with cheap clothing and electronics than luxury vehicles , but Samuelsson downplayed any concerns about quality .

`` We do n't highlight where the vehicle is built but we do n't keep it a secret . We sell them as Volvos and we know they are exactly the same in quality no matter where they are produced , '' he told CNN .

The car will be one of four models produced in a manufacturing plant in Chengdu that opened in 2013 .

But given that Volvo 's brand is staked on its reputation for safety , analysts said the company will have to tread carefully .

`` They have a strong enough reputation no matter where they 're made . They will have to make sure they do n't ruin that perception with any quality issues , '' said Raymond Tsang , a Shanghai-based partner at consultants Bain & Company .

China surpassed the U.S. as the largest market for car sales globally in 2009 , and most major automakers build cars in China .

But until now those cars have been sold almost exclusively in China .

Chinese car manufacturers like Geely and its rival Great Wall Motor do export their models to countries in Africa , the Middle East and Eastern Europe . But none have so far dared tackle developed markets like the U.S. and Western Europe .

Geely chairman Li Shufu said he hoped the company would eventually become a global car brand , but said there were no current plans to begin export its home-grown brand to U.S. showrooms .

`` We have the ambition , yes ; determination yes , but I 'm also -LSB- a -RSB- very realistic person , '' he said .

Industry analysts say it 's unlikely we will see Chinese car makers shake up the U.S. car market in the same way Japanese and South Korean manufacturers did decades earlier , at least in the near future .

`` Hyundai and Toyota are now extremely successful but it took them decades to move away from being perceived as lower end and lower quality than U.S. cars , '' said Tsang .

`` And now the market is even more competitive , especially for entry level models . ''

READ MORE : China wants eyes on cars not models at Shanghai Auto Show

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Volvo says it will begin exporting Chinese-built cars to the U.S. in May

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It 's the first time `` Made in China '' cars will be available in U.S. showrooms

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But it 's unlikely that Chinese car brands will take on developed markets